Reason for Living
by MikaMikaru
Summary: Her life changes one night after making a wrong turn. She is now drowning into a world of gangs, gang wars and death. With only Jace Wayland by her side, will she be able to make it? Or will she die trying? AU. Possible OOC.


_I do not own the Mortal Instruments..._

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Chapter 1: Wrong Turn

Street after street she crossed with no real direction in mind. She just ran wherever her legs were leading her. All that she knew was that she had to get away. She had to get away from the hell she was living. Things were just becoming too much. Not even Jonathan was able to comfort her.

It was until she was out of breath that she slowed down. It was then that she noticed where she was. She was in the back streets of New York City. The most dangerous part of the city. The part Jonathan told her to steer clear of. It was the part of the city that people in the right mind would steer clear of, but no one ever said she was in her right mind. Not at that moment.

By the time she neared the alley, she was already walking. It seemed like a decent place to be alone. It was nice and dark, but more than that, it was empty. She slumped against the wall. Her eyes began to well up with tears. Slowly, she slid down beside the garbage bin, not caring how dirty it might have been. Within moments she was curled up, her face buried in her arms. Hot tears began to slide down her face. Emotions she had buried beep inside, began to shoot through her like bolts of lightning. So many emotions played at once, turning into tight knots. She couldn't tell which was which, but there was one that was clear. Anger.

She hated him. She hated him so much. He was the reason her life had become hell. He was the reason why her mom was remarrying to hell-knows-who. He was the reason Jonathan came home stoned almost every night. He was the reason she had to work so hard to cover all the cuts and bruises he caused her so often. He was the reason she was a bullied outcast. He was the reason she wanted to die.

She hated Valentin, and knew she would never be able to forgive him. He had simply caused them too much pain. All because of his stupid drinking problem that started a few years back when she was ten. Ever since then, things just went downhill. He would not come home most nights, and when he was home, he was abusive. That was the reason her mom was remarrying. She said he was a great guy, but she couldn't be sure. Valentin had caused her to become very careful with grown men. She was drowning. She was only fifteen, at the prim of her life, and already wanted to die. What type of life was that?

In the distance, she heard faint footsteps heading in her direction. Hesitantly, she looked up, scanning the area for the source of the sound. She found nothing. No people. No cars. Not even a stray cat searching for food. Nothing. Everything just seemed so empty, but the footsteps told her otherwise.

It was only then that she noticed what she had thought was one set of footsteps had turned into many sets of footsteps. Fear began gripping at her, holding her frozen and captive. Jonathan had warned her about things like these happening on this side of the city.

One by one they came into view. She was suprised that none of them noticed her as they passed her by. There were so many of them. Though the lighting was very dim, she was still able to notice a comman characteristic between them. They all wore red shirts with extremely faded jeans. Her heart foze. They were one of the top gangs of the states. The Vamps. They were known as ruthless and deadly. People only messed with them if they had a death wish.

They were all gathered in the alley across from the one she was in. They seemed to be waiting for something, but she couldn't be sure of what exactly. The look in their eyes said they were out for blood.

Suddenly, people dressed in black leather fell from the windows above. One by one, they took them out. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't keep up with their movements. They were simply too swift and fast; it was almost unhuman. What was also surprising was that she had never heard of them. Never. Yet here they were, taking out one of the most deadly gangs around. It was unbelieveable. Their experience was clearly shown through how fast and lethal they moved.

Screams and yells began to echo through the alley. The fact that the ones dressed in black were overpowering the Vamps was frightening. She was begining to fear them. If they were able to take out the Vamps like they were nothing, what would they do to her when they found her? If she was going to die, she wanted it to be at her hand and not someone else's. That way she knew it would be swift and painless.

"Fall back! Fall back!" yelled one of the bigger Vamps fleeing the scene. The ones that could, followed. The ones in black hot on their tail. As the mixure of red and black covered her sight, she saw her chance. Without hesitation, she stood and began running in the other direction, until something stopped her dead in her tracks.

There in the alley stood a tall man with two swords held firmly at a young boy's throat. A hood covered his head and a ski mask covered his face. All that was visible were his eyes. The young boy was one of the Vamps. He looked no more than her age, maybe even younger. Fear was clearly seen all across his face. His neck was held firmly betweem the two blades. One wrong move and he'd be dead in seconds. Maybe that's why he looked like he was holding his breath...

"Tell me where he is," commanded the man in a muffled voice.

Tears began sliding down the boy's face. "I don't know," said the boy frantically between sobs. "I don't know!"

"Wrong answer."

"Please, please," begged the boy, "please don't kill me." His voice was fearfully pleading as hot tears came down his face more rapidly. "I'm not ready to die. I'm not ready to die! Please!"

"You should have thought of that before you joined a gang," whispered his captor in reply. Within seconds, the boy's lifeless body fell to the ground along with the rest, adding to the pile. "Besides," said the man as he wiped the blood off of his sword, "if I woundn't have, they would have..."

A small scream escaped her lips before she could stop it. She had no time to run; his eyes darted from the body to her almost instantly. Their eyes locked. She froze. The look in his eyes wouldn't allow her to move. It was not the look of a murderer but someone else. Someone else she could not put her finger on. Quickly, she looked away and darted off. She could only hope he wouldn't follow after her.

His golden eyes stared after her until she had completely vanished from view...

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**AN: So this is my shot at a multi-chap story that is dedicated to Dani and Ajay. Hope you guys liked it! ;D A BIG thanks to my beta, BigTimeRush-BTR! Without her this would be unreadable. Love ya. 3**

**Any ideas about what is going on? Guesses as to what's going to happen next? Leave a review and let me know your thoughts! Thank you! :D**


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